The mosque, at the Nottingham Islamic Centre, situated on Curzon Street, invited members of the public to sign a book of condolence remembering the victims of a gunman who entered a New Zealand mosque during afternoon prayers and killed 49 people, live streaming the atrocity on social media.

The Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Paddy Tipping, attended the vigil and gave a talk to the gathered crowd.

He told them: "Today is touched with sadness, but I am really pleased to be joined here by people of different backgrounds.

"We cannot be blind to the fact that we live in a society were politicians promote hatred.

"But we've got a long tradition of accepting people, and it would be good if all people could accept that tradition."

To try and tackle anti-Muslim sentiment in Nottingham, Mr Tipping commissioned the establishment of the Himmah and Community Safety Forum, which brings together 20 Muslim organisations in the city.

The director of the forum, Sajid Mohammed, said: "I've just come back from a Muslim conference for women, and one of the speakers on the panel said that she was on a bus in Nottingham with her children, and another woman came up to her and asked if she was raising terrorists.

"At mosques across the city there have been arson attempts, bacon graffiti placed on door handles and walls and bricks were thrown through a window at the mosque in Hyson Green.

"We need to change the definition of Islamophobia into one that is legally binding, like they did with anti-Semitism, to try and stop the day-to-day drip feeding of hate."

Read More

The event, on Saturday, March 16, was initially meant to be a mosque open day, of which several have taken place in Nottingham.

But following the New Zealand attack the day before, the event was combined with a public vigil to remember the victims.

Extra security was present on the day to reassure those who attended, with several police officers among the crowd.

Mr Mohammed continued: "With Brexit, the country has never been so divided and when the referendum happened in 2016 we saw a huge spike in hate crime.

"Now, as we approach another crucial moment for Brexit, those conversations about British identity are happening once again at dining tables across the country, and unless our politicians are courageous and stand up to tell the truth, we could see the same happening again.

"Muslims fought in the Second World War, and also helped to re-build this country economically in the NHS, in the factories and even in the pits, so our politicians need to be courageous and say that ethnic minorities are British, but people who carry out these acts of violence are not."

Padding Tipping addresses the crowd (Image: James Turner)

Despite some anti-Muslim sentiment, Sajid said that Nottingham was a good place to be.

He said: "We are fortunate in Nottingham that we have phenomenal community connections.

"We have an understanding police force and city council that wants to work hard to ensure that all of its residents get along.

"In six weeks Ramadan will be going on and we're going to use that opportunity to urge the Muslim community to stand up and advocate for our core values of tolerance and charity."

Councillor Toby Neal, Portfolio Holder for Community at Nottingham City Council, said: "These horrific attacks have outraged people in Nottingham and across the world.

"They are a crime against humanity as a whole but their impact will obviously be felt most by Muslim communities.

"The people behind these attacks want to divide us and spread fear. We won’t let that happen, certainly not in Nottingham where people have always got along whatever their background or religion.

"We want our Muslim communities to know that Nottingham stands together with them."